his lifetime. This work embraced descriptions of all the known species of plants. In it De Candolle gave a complete description of the polypetalous and part of the monopetalous exogens. This he accomplished with much labour and probably considerable injury to his health. In 1827 he published his "Organography of Plants," a work in which he traced each organ through all its modifications of structure in different plants. This work is in fact a development of the great doctrine of metamorphosis. It was followed, in 1832, by one on the "Physiology of Plants." He died 9th September, 1841. Some members of his family are still celebrated as botanists. DECA'NI, the side of the dean (Lat. decanus) in a cathedral choir; that is, the south side. See CANTORIS. DECAPITATION, beheading; a punishment of very ancient date, and used among the Greeks and Romans. Hoveden and Florence of Worcester agree that Earl Waltheof, who was beheaded by William the Conqueror in 1075, was the first Englishman who suffered that punishment. It soon became the form of capital punishment inflicted on the higher classes. Henry VIII. beheaded two of his queens and many of his subjects. Mary beheaded Lady Jane Grey (a crowned queen). Elizabeth beheaded Mary Queen of Scots; the High Court of Justice beheaded Charles I., and the headsman's axe was seldom idle, indeed, throughout the middle ages. The last instance of decapitation in England was in the case of the rebel lords of 1745. In France all criminals capitally convicted are now beheaded with the guillotine. scale attached to the outer base of the protopodite. The next six pairs being modified to subserve the duty of nutrition, are called gnathites (mouth-organs). The gnathites of the crayfish are shown in fig. 2. The first pair are the mandibles (a), each of which have a small jointed feeler or palp (a*) attached to its upper border. These are followed by two pairs of maxilla (c d), the second bearing a large spoon-shaped boat-like epipodite. The three next appendages have less of the character of jaws, and show more plainly the ordinary structure of a limb. These (e ƒ g) are the jaw-feet (maxillipedes). The next five segments, the tenth to the fourteenth, bear the five pair (o, fig. 4 B) of ambulatory limbs, several of which terminate in a scissor-shaped joint or claw (chela). These legs are called chelate, and as this arrangement is generally most strongly marked in the first pair (figs. 1 and 4 A B), which become powerful organs of offence, the name chela is often restricted to them. The six appendages on the abdomen are swimming organs in the crayfish, but remain extremely rudimentary in the crab. The second to the fifth carry the eggs after extrusion from the ovary. The sixth (b', fig. 1) forms, together with the telson (a), a powerful caudal fin. This appendage, like the rest, is composed of an endopodite (b') and an exopodite (c'). The gills consist of numerous thin plates borne by the ambulatory feet and some of the jaw-feet. They are pyramidal, and are contained in cavities at the side of the thorax. The heart is placed in the posterior portion of the cephalo-thorax. It is a contractile cleft, with six main arteries. Fig. 4 A shows the carapace of a crab marked into certain regions named after the organs protected by them-the stomachic region (g), the genital region (h), the cardial region (i), the hepatic regions (k 1), the branchial regions (m m). intermediate group, Anomura, containing, among others, the HERMIT-CRAB. DECEMBER. This month still retains the name assigned to it in the first Roman calendar, in which it was the tenth of the year. Our Saxon ancestors called it midwinter-month and yule-month. DECAP'ODA (Gr. deka, ten; pous-pods, foot) is an order of the PODOPHTHALMA, a subclass of CRUSTACEA. This order, containing as it does the crabs and lobsters, is the most important and highly-developed group of the Crustacea. The name has reference to the five pairs of ambulatory limbs borne on the thorax. Taking the cray- The Decapoda are usually divided into three sections, fish (Astacus fluviatilis—see CRUSTACEA, Plate II. figs. characterized by the name of the abdomen-the Macrura 1-3) as the type of a decapod, its structure may be briefly (long-tailed) containing the CRAYFISHI, the LOBSTER, the considered. The body is segmented, consisting of a certain SHRIMP, and other allied forms; the Brachyura (shortnumber of "somites," each of which bears a pair of ap-tailed), containing the various kinds of CRAB; and an pendages. The somites are usually regarded as twenty-one in number, but inasmuch as the twenty-first, the telson (a, fig. 1), is destitute of appendages, Huxley regards it as a median appendage, thus reducing the number of somites to twenty. Other zoologists, however, have asserted that in some forms exceedingly minute appendages to the telson may be detected. For convenience' sake the body is usually divided into cephale (head), thorax, and abdomen, with seven somites each for the first two, and six or seven for the abdomen, according to the light in which the telson is regarded. The cephale and thorax have their somites amalgamated, forming the cephalo-thorax. This cephalothorax is covered by a calcareous shield or carapace (b, fig. 1), which is developed from the epimeral elements of one or two of the cephalic somites. The carapace is prolonged into a beak or rostrum (d, figs. 1 and 3). The abdominal segments in the crayfish (n, fig. 1) are free; in the crab (n, fig. 4 B) they are rudimentary, and are tucked up underneath the carapace. The appendages, though variously modified, are all constructed on the same plan. Each consists of a root-footlet (protopodite) with two diverging joints, the inner of which is called the endopodite (a, fig. 5), and the outer (6) the exopodite. In addition, some of the appendages have a long slender upper footlet (epipodite, c) attached in the basal point serving to keep the gills apart. The first pair of appendages is composed of the eyestalks (a*, figs. 1 and 3), each bearing an eye (a**) at its extremity. The second somite bears the inner pair of antennæ, the antennules (b, fig. 3) consisting of a basal portion (protopodite) and segmented endopodite and exopodite of equal length. Next come the great antennæ (c), in which the long feeler is the endopodite, the exopodite being represented by a large DECEM VIRI (Latin, decem viri, ten men). The decemviri-or, as we usually put the name in English, the decemvirs-were bodies, magistrates of ancient Rome, of whom there were several examples. The number 10, from its supremacy in arithmetic (result simply of men having ten fingers wherewith to count), was held of special value, and the first council of jurisconsults, appointed to calm the dissatisfied plebs by bringing into order the wayward conduct of the patricians in legal matters, therefore contained this number. The decemvirs had as a basis, besides the early Roman laws and customs, a collection of the principal Greek laws, particularly those of Solon, obtained by an embassy sent to Greece for that purpose. They were chosen in 451 B.C., and the whole business of the state was put into their hands, each decemvir in turn taking the consular authority. The result was the famous "ten tables" (again the number 10) of Roman law, basis of the legislation of all Europe to this day. They continued a year in their arduous office and won universal applause, so that another year like it was universally desired. The celebrated APPIUS CLAUDIUS was decemvir in both years, but most of the others were changed. second decemvirs added two more tables of equal value with the original ten (completing the "laws of the twelve tables"), but they departed in their administration from the wisdom of their predecessors, and aroused a general feeling of discontent. The growing dissatisfaction at the The second, son of the preceding, was four times consul. He also at Sentinum, B.C. 295, solemnly devoted himself, and hurled himself against the hitherto invincible Gauls with a like glorious consequence to his country. Decius the third. when consul, B.C. 279, fighting against Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, sacrificed himself in a similar manner. But the last case is doubtful, unless there were then two of the same name, as notices of a Publius Decius occur later en DE CIUS, CAIUS MESSIUS QUINTUS TRAJANUS, the Roman emperor, was a general of the Emperor Philippus. He was sent to quell an insurrection in the army of Moesia A.D. 249, but the insurgents seized him and proclaimed him emperor, as he asserted, against his wil DE'CIUS MUS, PUBLIUS, three consuls of Romegrandfather, father, and son-who devoted themselves to death successively for the state, and whose names accordingly passed into a proverb. Decius the Elder was consul with Torquatus in the war with the Latins, B.C. 340. A vision showed him that one side should lose its general but gain the victory. Accordingly, acquainting his col}“ with his design, he rushed upon the enemy's spears, rre which followed him was so furious that 'orious victory over his body. Decius the Coin of Decius Trajanus in the British Museum- Philippus, advancing against him, was slain at Vers Decius chiefly distinguished himself in his short reign by his violent persecution of the Christians. He and his son fell in an expedition against the Goths about 251. DECLARATION, in law, the statement of his case by the plaintiff in an action at law. In this, the first of the pleadings in a cause, the plaintiff states the nature of ka case, in strict conformity with the tenor of the writ as regards the names and numbers of the parties and the character in which the plaintiff sues. DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE. The power of suspending a statute was claimed by Henry III, 25 was occasionally exercised by the later Plantagenets; but it was not till the Tudors that much evil arose in this wat The Stuarts followed the mischievous practice; and a culminated in the celebrated Declaration of Indulgence by Charles II., in 1672, suspending no less than forty statutes against nonconformists or recusants, by the king's authority, and re-establishing liberty of public worship—s good end gained by the worst of means. Accordingly t Commons, when they assembled in 1673, stopped the sa plies until the obnoxious declaration was withdrawn, sz: not content with the king's immediate compliance they a their zeal passed the rigorous TEST ACT. Disregarding this stern warning James II. repeated the declaration of his brother in 1688 (27th April), ori-ri every clergyman to read it on two Sundays. Only for obeyed in all London, and hardly more in the e The bishops protested, and seven of them were thrown int the Tower, the very sentinels kneeling for their blessing. The bishops were tried at the end of June for libel, at once acquitted, and by December James was a fuzti from his crown and country, never to return. The pending power was expressly annulled in the Declarat-a (and Bill) of Rights. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, the basis of the liberty at present enjoyed in England, was drawn up t Lord Somers in the Convention assembled by the Parv of Orange [See CONVENTION.] It was presented to prince and princess at Whitehall on 13th February, 16, and set forth first the misgovernment of James II. 20 abdication, and the power of the English people to determine their rights. These last it briefly recited, conder ing the dispensing power and the suspending power assumi by James, and forbidding for ever the king to levy either soldiers or taxes without the authority of Parliament. Justice to all, the right to petition, and the free election of members of Parliament were also claimed. William at once accepted the whole frankly in his own name and in his wife's, and they were then proclaimed king and queen. Later in the year the declaration was expanded into the Bill of Rights, passing through the due parliamentary stages. See BILL OF RIGHTS. DECLEN ́SION, a form of the Latin word declinatio, which signifies the various denominations of termination, called cases, of which a noun is susceptible in the Latin, Greek, and some other languages. Thus, if we take reg as the crude form, and add s, we have the nominative and vocative regs or rex; the genitive is reg-is, the dative reg-i, the accusative reg-em, and the ablative reg-e-all in the singular. DECLINATION. This word when used in astronomy denotes one of the two measurements by which it is usual to specify the position of a celestial body on the surface of the heavens. It will be understood most readily by reference to a celestial globe, on which is marked the pole and the equator with various other circles. If a great circle be drawn from the pole to a star, and produced on so as to intersect the equator, then the arc between the star and the equator, when expressed in angular measure, denotes the declination of the star. The declination of any point on the equator is, of course, zero. The declination of the pole itself is 90°, and for any point between the pole and the equator the declination lies between 0 and 90°. To indicate that an object is in the northern hemisphere the declination is marked +, while is used for objects in the southern hemisphere. In the adjoining figure let P represent the celestial pole, and A T B the celestial equator. Draw from P an arc of a great circle, PST, passing through s, the position of a star on the surface of the heavens. Let o be the centre of the earth, then join os and OT, and the angle TOS is the declination of the star. The angle Pos is called the polar distance of the star, so that the polar distance is the complement of the declination. T B The declination of a celestial object is best ascertained by measurements made with a MERIDIAN CIRCLE. As the diurnal motion of the heavens carries the star or other object across the field of the telescope the observer raises or lowers the instrument, so that the line in which the star moves shall coincide with an horizontal wire placed in the telescope. To enable this to be done with the necessary accuracy, a mechanical arrangement is provided by which the telescope can be moved with great nicety. After the star has left the field of view the graduated circle is read off, and in the better class of instruments the result is recorded to the tenth of a second. A single observation of this kind is, however, quite inadequate to give us the declination of the star. We must have the means of pointing the telescope to some accurately defined spot, so as to give, as it were, a zero from which the other measures can be reckoned. Take, for example, some standard star; suppose Sirius. Then if we observe Sirius in the way we have described, and if we then observe the other star of which the declination is to be ascertained, the difference between the readings of the two circles will be the difference between the declination of the two objects. In making these observations it must be remembered that the positions of the stars are affected by refraction, and the observations must be corrected accordingly. This is done in the following man VOL. IV. ner:-When Sirius is observed it is elevated by refraction to an amount which is nearly proportional to the tangent of the zenith distance. We thus correct the reading of the circle to what it would have been had the telescope been depressed into the position in which it would have been directed had we been able to see Sirius without the intervention of the atmosphere. The reading for the other star must be similarly corrected, and it is the difference between their two corrected readings that is the declination. In the list of standard stars published each year in the Nautical Almanack their declinations throughout the year are given with all needful accuracy. By comparison with these standard stars we have the means of deducing the declinations of unknown objects from the observations made by the meridian circle. We may, however, mention how the declinations of the standard stars are to be found. A vessel containing mercury is placed underneath the meridian circle, so that when the telescope is pointed vertically downwards the reflection of the horizontal wire can be seen by the observer, together with the wire itself; by a slow motion the telescope is moved until the image and the reality coincide, and then the telescope must be pointed exactly to the nadir. In this position the circles are read off, so that we are able to determine the apparent nadir distance, which is the complement of the zenith distance. The declination is then easily found, being merely the difference between the latitude and the zenith distance. DECLINATION OF MAGNETIC NEEDLE, or Variation of the Magnetic Needle, is the angle which the horizontal needle makes with the geographical meridian of any given place. In other words, the needle does not point true N. and S., and the declination is the angular difference between the north pole of the earth and its magnetic north pole at any given place. The Chinese were the earliest observers of the property of the magnet of turning, when poised on its centre, continually in the same direction. In the Dictionary of Hiutchin the magnet is described as the "stone by which we give direction to the needle;" and this refers to the date A.D. 121. Again, under the dynasty of Tsin (which, according to Duhalde, is included between the years A.D. 265 and 419), the great Dictionary of Poi-wen-yun-fou says, "They had then ships whose course was directed by the magnetized needle." A passage in the Chinese annals leaves no doubt that this people had in very early times observed the fact of the declination of the needle; for it is there stated that when an iron point is rubbed with the loadstone, it acquires the property of showing the direction of the south; nevertheless, it always declines to the west, and is not due south.” The earliest mention of the magnetic declination among other than Chinese writers is in a manuscript known as the Adsiger or Leyden Manuscript (1269). This manuscript has been the subject of much discussion; its authenticity is still greatly doubted. It has been usual among European writers to refer the discovery of the declination of the needle to Columbus on his first voyage of discovery in 1492; and though this is now known not to be the fact, it appears from various printed works and manuscripts that the declination was familiarly known very soon afterwards to all the commercial nations of Europe. What Columbus did undoubtedly discover is that the declination varied for different places, and was not therefore a constant quantity, as had been supposed. In 1581 Burrough published his "Discourse on the Variation of the Compass," in which he states, as the result of numerous observations, that the declination at Limehouse was 11° 15' E.; but in 1633 Gillebrand, the Gresham professor of geometry, found that it only amounted to 4° 5' E. Careful observations subsequently made have shown that the declination is continually changing, though 29 | DEBREC'ZIN, the capital of the comitat of Bihar, in Upper Hungary, stands in the centre of an extensive plain, 114 miles E. of Pesth, and has 50,000 inhabitants. The town is open, and has more the appearance of a collection of villages than of a town, for the houses seldom exceed one storey in height, and are as humble in their exterior as common cottages. The streets are unpaved and filthy. The best buildings are the town-hall, and the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. The town possesses a Calvinistic college and gymnasium, with 2000 students and a library of 20,000 volumes, a Roman Catholic gymnasium, a school of design, an orphan asylum, three dispensaries, three hospitals, and a house of correction. The inhabitants derive their subsistence from agriculture and the manufacture of coarse woollens, pottery, leather, saltpetre, tobacco pipes, soap, knives and other cutlery, combs, buttons, pearl necklaces, &c. Its central position and its great fairs, of which four are held in the year, afford it a ready market for its products. The town is the seat of the court of appeal for the circle beyond the Theiss. It suffers greatly from want of water in summer. A railway runs from Vienna, through Pressburg and Pesth, to Debreczin. The prosperity of the town arose from the number of refugees that flocked to it to escape the Turks in the fifteenth century. From the pulpit of the Protestant church on 14th April, 1849, Kossuth proclaimed the overthrow of the Hapsburg dynasty. A bronze statue to the popular Hungarian poet, Csokonay, was erected in 1871; and a monument, consisting of a dying lion on a pedestal of rock, has been raised to the Honvéds who fell at the battle of Debreczin on 2nd August, 1849. DEBT, NATIONAL. See NATIONAL DEBT. DEBTS, SMALL. See COUNTY COURTS. DEC AGON, a figure of ten sides; but the term is most commonly applied to an equilateral and equiangular, or a regular, decagon. latter purpose the version given in Deuteronomy is generally followed, and the ninth commandment is formed by the words, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house," the remainder of the passage forming the tenth. There are good reasons for believing that the ten com mandments were originally divided into five and five, the first division (including the precept of duty towards parent being regarded as referring to duty towards God, the see half consisting of the duties due towards man. The view generally taken in the Christian Church, however, is that the first division consists of the first four commandments and the second of the remaining six. It is generally admitted by biblical crities that the decalogue contains Mosaic ideas, but there is a widely spread opinion that in its original form it did not contain the elucidations annexed to the commandments, and that ealy the short injunctions, such as "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," were graven on the tables of st By this theory the difference in the two versions is easily accounted for, and the division of the precepts into five sal five are made of more equal length. DE CANDOLLE, AUGUSTIN PYRAMUS,= illustrious French botanist, was born 4th February, 1778 at Geneva, where his father was premier syndic. He ey amused himself in collecting wild plants, and acquired taste for botany, which, after subsequently attending the lectures of Professor Vaucher in his native city, became the occupation of his life. In 1796 he went to Paris, attended the lectures of Vauquelin, Cuvier, and Fore He also became intimately acquainted with Cuvier, boldt, Berthollet, Desfontaines, and Lamarck. 544 |